DHS/Toy Story Land "Early Morning Magic" (EMM) FAQ & Discussion

[Ginamom]

Long time lurker, first time poster. But I did get a fair bit out of the posts in this thread so thought I would contribute for once. Did EMM today, March 11 with a 7 , 5 and 3 year old. Took first bus out from CBR at 6:10, arrived at security a few minutes before they opened at 6:30. Held at entrance for a little while longer. Went to backlot and had some yogurt, pastries, coffee. Went to holding area where we were held until about 7:20 or so. Did the walk back to toy story land, which was probably the worst part of the morning, wife pushing a double stroller, trying to leave enough space in front to not hit anyone, but constantly being cut off. Can't even imagine the chaos of a regular rope drop to a priority attraction. Don't cut off strollers. Started near front of line, finished probably 100 people back.

Still got tonnes done. Don't have exact times but we did:
Slinky - 3 and 5 yr olds were not fans, 7 yr old loved it
AS2 x 3 - didn't have to get off - 5 and 3 yr old loved it
TSM - had to get off ride and walk all way around
TSM x 2 - no one in line so was able to stay on - had to ask though.
Split up - wife and young ones did ASM x 3 without having to get off, 7yr old and I did SDDx2. Last time we were in line the RD crowd entered.

Went to jedi training sign ups, fairly long wait, earliest show was 3:40. If early show is important then you should maybe leave a bit earlier and try not to sneek in one more ride. Went back to breakfast which was okay, kids weren't huge fans of many of the dishes, but there was enough variety to find something everyone was ok with.

Overall it was definetly worth it for us. Kids had a blast and got to ride everything multiple times. 5 and 3 year olds ended up doing 10 rides ( 1x SDD, 6x AS2, 3x TSM), 7 year old did 9 (3 times on everything). No character meets since nobody want to stop going on rides. Bonus points to all the CMs that let us stay on so many rides in a row. One actually remembered us later in the day when I was able to get a 4th FP for AS2 and he let the kids ride it twice in a row again even with an hour wait. Still can't believe they did (or wanted to do) that ride 8 times.

Sounds great!!! What other FPP did you get?

 

[tookydo]

I waited too long to book. 4 possible dates in June during my trip and no tickets available for a party of 6 (6/5, 6/7 and 6/10 or 6/12.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I waited too long to book. 4 possible dates in June during my trip and no tickets available for a party of 6 (6/5, 6/7 and 6/10 or 6/12.

Keep checking everyday. They will most likely open up the 7:00 slot. When they do, book that day asap. You can always cancel if you change your mind

 

[ninafeliz]

I waited too long to book. 4 possible dates in June during my trip and no tickets available for a party of 6 (6/5, 6/7 and 6/10 or 6/12.

There isn't one on 6/7 as of now, by the way. They have occasionally added Friday dates late in the game, though. After i saw your post I was curious so I went and checked, and for your dates there isn't availability, but we are going on 6/17 and it has availability for up to 14 people. The 19th and 24th also have 14 spots open, and the 26th has 3 spots. I wonder why such a big discrepancy between the first half of the month being booked and the second half almost wide open?

Also, as the pp mentioned, it's almost certain they will open the 7:00 slots and you'll be able to get in. Just check every morning for openings.

 

[MonaMN]

We attended on 3/6. They didn't get Slinky Dog working until after 8:00...maybe 8:15? I can't say for sure because we went to rise Toy Story Mania and it was working when we came out. I see reports of other rides being open, but if that is true then no one told us and we spoke to several cast members for updates. They should really find a better way to communicate these things, there are certainly enough cast members standing around that they could walk around telling people.

We got right in line for Woody and Jessie when they opened Toy Story land and we were the second family. After that was when we realized slinky dog was down, so we went and did alien swirling saucers twice. We then had some hot chocolate because it was chilly and looked around the land. Since slinky was still down we went to do toy story mania and slinky was working when we came out. We rode slinky dog twice before rope drop crown arrived.

I spoke to a cast member on our way out and he said we could ride slinky dog through 10AM in the fastpass line. I nicely explained that this wasn't acceptable for me because we had other plans from 9:00-10:00 (we wanted to go ride Tower of Terror and do a few other things before lines got crazy) but he said that he couldn't give us fastpasses. We continued on with our day, rode tower of terror twice and met some characters. Then I sent my husband and son over to do their star wars fastpass and I went to guest relations, where I explained to them why their solution didn't work for me and asked for two additional fastpasses for each member of my family. They agreed and loaded them onto our account. I was happy with that solution.

So, while it was disappointing that we didn't get to ride slinky dog more, it ended up working out and it was nice to be able to go over for a couple more slinky dog rides later in the afternoon.

We were there on this day. It was chilly (probably around 42 degrees at EMM start), so I am guessing that is why SDD was down? It was a bit of a chilly ride even once it got moving.

They held us back until close to 7:30, then we did AS2 twice and TSM once. Since SDD was down, those lines were longer than they probably would be usually. We checked on SDD before starting TSM at about 7:55 and were told we would be able to ride until 10 AM in the FP line.

After TSM, we got in line for SDD and rode it two times. At that point, it was about rope drop time. We headed to RnRC, then back to do SDD twice before just barely making it to breakfast.

We were OK with how it ended up... we didn’t need another ride on SDD - four was enough (and we had another day at HS later with a SDD FP). Even with all of that, I would do it again. So good to experience TSL without the masses - it was quite busy last week!

 

[mackaylc]

I am excited to be booked for HS EMM for August 28. I have done MK EMM so I am hoping it will be just as awesome as that! And this will be my chance to get into TSL before the craziness the next day will bring So much for booking my trip the last week of August to avoid the crowds

 

[Suejacken]

I am excited to be booked for HS EMM for August 28. I have done MK EMM so I am hoping it will be just as awesome as that! And this will be my chance to get into TSL before the craziness the next day will bring So much for booking my trip the last week of August to avoid the crowds

I’m excited that I was able to book it for 7/1. I think it’s the best way for my crew to ride all three rides

 

[NJlauren]

I am excited to be booked for HS EMM for August 28. I have done MK EMM so I am hoping it will be just as awesome as that! And this will be my chance to get into TSL before the craziness the next day will bring So much for booking my trip the last week of August to avoid the crowds

See you there!

 

[FigmentFinder]

I am excited to be booked for HS EMM for August 28. I have done MK EMM so I am hoping it will be just as awesome as that! And this will be my chance to get into TSL before the craziness the next day will bring So much for booking my trip the last week of August to avoid the crowds

Me too! I decided to alter my last week of August/Labor day plans and keep all the DHS before Star Wars opens. I think the EMM on the 28th will make the day go better. If the park starts getting crazy later in the day, I will have done all the major rides with the EMM and just after.

 

[M SH]

Has anyone cancelled an EMM reservation? Do you get a cancellation email and how long does it take to get a credit card refund?

I cancelled my reservation for end of April that I made as a placeholder in case I change my mind about my HS day, but I didn’t get any cancellation email like I usually do when I cancel/change ADRs. It’s 3 business days, no refund yet. I know it could take longer on the refund like a week or so, but was wondering more abt the email..

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Has anyone cancelled an EMM reservation? Do you get a cancellation email and how long does it take to get a credit card refund?

I cancelled my reservation for end of April that I made as a placeholder in case I change my mind about my HS day, but I didn’t get any cancellation email like I usually do when I cancel/change ADRs. It’s 3 business days, no refund yet. I know it could take longer on the refund like a week or so, but was wondering more abt the email..

For the last month or so my cancellation emails have been hit or miss. Used to be really solid - you cancel, email comes in rather quickly. But sometimes of late I don’t get them at all.

I have not seen a change in refunds though. That can vary by credit card company. For mine, it’s usually 3ish days.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

Just booked for 8/28 - now to read this thread to catch up! My biggest concern is getting there (staying at POP). Will get to the bus stop really early and hope the bus comes!

 

[SaintsManiac]

Has anyone cancelled an EMM reservation? Do you get a cancellation email and how long does it take to get a credit card refund?

I cancelled my reservation for end of April that I made as a placeholder in case I change my mind about my HS day, but I didn’t get any cancellation email like I usually do when I cancel/change ADRs. It’s 3 business days, no refund yet. I know it could take longer on the refund like a week or so, but was wondering more abt the email..

It takes 5 days for me to get refunds from Disney. I have a Disney Visa.

 

[MonaMN]

For the last month or so my cancellation emails have been hit or miss. Used to be really solid - you cancel, email comes in rather quickly. But sometimes of late I don’t get them at all.

I have not seen a change in refunds though. That can vary by credit card company. For mine, it’s usually 3ish days.

Hope that helps.

Same - I cancelled a couple of reservations during our trip a week ago and didn’t get an email - but it didn’t show up on the app or website, so I assume it cancelled appropriately.

 

[Branderson610]

Hi, I did EMM 3-11 and it was so worth it. Spring Break at Disney was extremely crowded. Without EMM we would not of had as much fun. The breakfast after was good as well. We did....
SDD × 5
TSM × 1
AS × 1

 

[TongaToast21]

I haven't read the entire thread, I'm sure its been said previously, but for those of you haven't read either-

I strongly recommend getting there at 7, have a pastry or coffee, and then when the land opens go right over and begin your riding. Before you know it, it will be 9:00 (or whenever the park opens that day) and there will be a massive flood of people charging into TSL. At this time you can then go back to backlot express and enjoy your hot/full breakfast. I don't think its worth taking time out of the "riding" portion of EMM to eat a full breakfast before the land itself opens. Just my 2 cents!

Also, don't panic if SDD line seems longer than you anticipated. Everyone rushes to it, and like every park, the queue will even out as the morning goes on.

 

[Avery&Todd]

Here's my review of EMM @ TSL - 100% worth it but it was a few pages back from mid-Feb!
*************

Just a quick review of our experience with this event on Monday, Feb. 18th - overall it was FANTASTIC!!! this trip was just DH and I and I wasn't sure how he would feel about me buying extra tickets for this so I kept it quiet and then let him know I had a "surprise" for him..

We stayed at the Swan and left the room about 6:35am-ish and it took 10-12 minutes to get there and basically walked right up to a CM and got our bands and then walked right through the gates into the park!

We headed to Backlot express for coffee and a danish and then back to the area in front of the Chinese theater and waited with everyone else. They let us in just before 7:20am and we went with the whole crowd to Slinky Dog - we were able to ride 4 times in a row!!

We then headed to TSM and rode that 4 times in a row with the last 2 rides we didnt have to get off the ride!

When we got off TSM the last time at 8:45am we were greeted with the Slinky Dog line stretching all the way out of Toy Story Land and up to the Little Mermaid ride!! YIKES!!

We then we went back to Backlot Express and got breakfast - DH and I both ordered the kids meal scrambled eggs w/ potato barrels and the chicken and waffle - both were DELICIOUS!!

I then had a FP+ for TSM which brought our ride total to 5 times on TSM.

I then had a FP+ for Muppets, then got a FP+ for the 12pm Indiana Jones. During the show I checked FP+ and was able to get a FP+ for Slinky Dog at 2:30 (which was ride #5 for the day) and then after that got a FP+ for Alien Saucers at 4:05pm.

It was a successful day!

Total rides for the day:
Slinky Dog x 5
TSM x 5
Alien Saucers x 1
Muppets x 1
Indiana Jones x 1

and a lunch at Sci-Fi

DH has already asked that I make sure I book this again when we come with the boys in June 2020..

Can't wait!

 

[Candycane83]

Here's my review of EMM @ TSL - 100% worth it but it was a few pages back from mid-Feb!
*************

Just a quick review of our experience with this event on Monday, Feb. 18th - overall it was FANTASTIC!!! this trip was just DH and I and I wasn't sure how he would feel about me buying extra tickets for this so I kept it quiet and then let him know I had a "surprise" for him..

We stayed at the Swan and left the room about 6:35am-ish and it took 10-12 minutes to get there and basically walked right up to a CM and got our bands and then walked right through the gates into the park!

We headed to Backlot express for coffee and a danish and then back to the area in front of the Chinese theater and waited with everyone else. They let us in just before 7:20am and we went with the whole crowd to Slinky Dog - we were able to ride 4 times in a row!!

We then headed to TSM and rode that 4 times in a row with the last 2 rides we didnt have to get off the ride!

When we got off TSM the last time at 8:45am we were greeted with the Slinky Dog line stretching all the way out of Toy Story Land and up to the Little Mermaid ride!! YIKES!!

We then we went back to Backlot Express and got breakfast - DH and I both ordered the kids meal scrambled eggs w/ potato barrels and the chicken and waffle - both were DELICIOUS!!

I then had a FP+ for TSM which brought our ride total to 5 times on TSM.

I then had a FP+ for Muppets, then got a FP+ for the 12pm Indiana Jones. During the show I checked FP+ and was able to get a FP+ for Slinky Dog at 2:30 (which was ride #5 for the day) and then after that got a FP+ for Alien Saucers at 4:05pm.

It was a successful day!

Total rides for the day:
Slinky Dog x 5
TSM x 5
Alien Saucers x 1
Muppets x 1
Indiana Jones x 1

and a lunch at Sci-Fi

DH has already asked that I make sure I book this again when we come with the boys in June 2020..

Can't wait!

Thanks for the review! Did you walk there from Swan? We’re staying at YC and I’m trying to figure out how to get to EMM

 

[Brett Wyman]

Thanks for the review! Did you walk there from Swan? We’re staying at YC and I’m trying to figure out how to get to EMM

We always walk it from the Beach Club, especially if it’s a comfortable morning, but I know everyone’s different. Once it heats up take the boat back.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for the review! Did you walk there from Swan? We’re staying at YC and I’m trying to figure out how to get to EMM

I wouldn’t rely on the boat being available that early, I’d plan to walk if able.